FOCUS ON
ALTERNATIVE
FUELS
ReF : DGAC-DMF 5007 / Date : February 2010
THE
ISSUES
01
•••
Our industry and the world are facing
two major issues today:
1
2
Climate change due to Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and
our impact upon it.
The inevitable shortage and increasing price of oil within the
coming decades.
Alternative fuels may be seen as a potential answer to these two
major societal issues, but are they an attractive solution? And when
can this answer be implemented? Is business aviation getting
prepared for these new fuels and the challenges they present? In a
world where human activity has dramatic impact on our environment,
where one day fossil fuels will no longer be a cheap source of energy,
a long term vision for sustainable aviation requires more than one
action. Alternative fuels are only part of the overall solution.
This document was prepared to help address some of these
questions.
WHAT ARE
ALTERNATIVE
FUELS
02
•••
Some Statistics…
A
lternative fuels are derived from resources
other than oil, either from fossil sources (such
as coal
or gas), or from organic sources
(crops, wood, or waste: the biomass). They are a
way to address a future shortage of fossil oils. They
are also a way to reduce CO2 emissions when made
from biomass.How ? Think of it this way: vegetation
is continuously capturing CO2 from the atmosphere
while growing. So, when eventually this vegetation
is used as a fuel you only emit carbon which was
previously present in the air. Theoretically, a zero
emission balance. But in real life, use of vegetation
leads to deforestation, harming the natural ‘sink’
for CO2 that forests constitute, not to mention the
CO2 emission and pollution induced by mechanized
agriculture and pesticide use. The global ecological
balance of biofuels still raises some open questions.
Moreover, the risk of competition with food production
could lead to food price increases.
The most mature alternative fuel for aviation is the
family of Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (FT-SPK),
made via the Fischer Tropsch synthesis process. They
can be made out of biomass, being then a biofuel,
or be made out of coal or gas. Some of the latter
are currently approved for aviation and produced by
several oil companies, like SASOL or SHELL. The
volume produced remains marginal, due to the high
cost of production.
The Fischer Tropsch process consumes a lot of energy,
and emits tons of CO2. Its global ecological and
economical score needs to be dramatically improved
before producing a sustainable alternative fuel.
Development of alternative fuels will need a strong
and sustained institutional effort. Technologies are not
mature enough, nor efficient enough. Huge industrial
and infrastructure investments are needed, while fossil
fuels are still a very affordable energy source.
Making alternative fuel, and biofuel in particular, an
environmentally friendly source of energy for air
transportation, available on a large scale is still a long
way off (see the technical focus on biofuels in the
appendix).
Commercial aviation represents only 6% of world’s
oil consumption, 3% of greenhouse gas emissions
and 2% of the world’s CO2 emissions. Business
aircraft are as numerous as commercial aircraft but
accounts for only 2% of aviation’s fuel burned and
CO2 emission. In other words, Business aviation’s
share is only 0.04% of global CO2 emissions. To
help illustrate, the overall CO2 emissions per year
by all business aircraft combined are approximately
the equivalent of one medium sized power plant.
Although this is a small fraction of the larger issue,
we must do our part and Dassault is (and has been)
actively working on advanced technologies to
address the forthcoming environmental challenges.
Greenhouse gas emission is directly linked to fuel
consumption. So, being ‘GHG’ sensitive is primarily
being concerned with fuel efficiency.
Did you know that by ‘optimizing’ the design of
the aircraft, Falcons are 20% to 60% more fuel
efficient when compared to the competition ?
WHICH ALTERNATIVE
FOR AVIATION
•••
T
he first aviation alternative fuels made out of biomass are
expected to be certified around 2012. However, the industrial
and infrastructure challenges will limit global use for aviation
due to the large quantities that need to be produced, and delivered
to airports: about 800 million liters (~211 million U.S. gallons) of
kerosene were used per day in 2009.
Commercial aviation is expected to keep on using conventional jet
fuel for years. The most optimistic targets are that by 2025, 25% of
jet fuel could be alternative fuels.
Alternative fuels will not be a substitute to regular jet fuel in one day.
So the availability of a given alternative fuel will not be guaranteed at
each airport, and the user should be able to fill the aircraft with either
conventional (Jet A1) fuel or alternative fuel, according to availability,
in a very easy way, without having to change a software setting, or
to make any specific action on the aircraft. Therefore only «dropin» fuel, i.e. fuel having the same properties as the Jet A1 and that
can be «dropped-in the fuel tank» identically as Jet A1, will make a
credible alternative.
Interchangeability with conventional jet fuels and compliance with
Jet A1 specifications are the key factors of success.
03
04
Jet aviation fuel requirements
ASTM-D 1665 US standards, and UK DEFSTAN 91-91 standards precisely specify the thermodynamic and
physical qualities required:
To maintain service level:
A low density (energy per volume) or a low specific energy (energy per mass), as well as improper combustion
qualities would dramatically degrade the engine and aircraft performances such as range, flight domain, …
Aircraft would need to be larger, heavier to accommodate more fuel… and would achieve an awfully high fuel
consumption per kilometer!
To maintain safety level:
Fuel must not freeze at high altitude, constraints on electrical conductivity prevents hazardous electric events
induced by friction of kerosene on the tank’s surface, ….
To maintain the integrity of the FUEL tank, the fuel system or the engine:
Fuel may affect seals, fuel capacity to cool or lubricate the engine depends on heat capacity, viscosity and
lubrication qualities, …
Potential risks related to fuel qualitY:
engine
ENGINE SHUT DOWN
OVERHEATING
ENGINE FIRE
NOZZLE BLOCKING
SOOT
FUEL TANK
FUEL FREEZE
STEAM
WATER/FUEL MIXING
ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE
CORROSION
GAUGING
FUEL SYSTEM
SEAL LEAKAGE
PUMPS SHUT DOWN
THERMAL INSTABILITY
AIR LOCK
WHAT
DASSAULT
IS DOING
05
•••
Dassault is carefully preparing for the coming of alternate fuels.
Our objective is to ensure compatibility of our product with synthetic
fuels that will become available as credible alternatives to Jet A1.
Activities that we are currently involved in:
CAER (Carburants Alternatifs pour l’AERonautique - French acronym
for «alternative fuels for aeronautics).
Dassault’ roadmap includes extensive tests on a rig to operate a fuel
system with actual alternative fuels by 2012.
AT THE SOCIETAL LEVEL
Dassault is participating in National and European ethic committees,
in order to ensure a good understanding of Business Aviation
context and requirements by all the stakeholders (final users,
oil producers, food producers, public and military offices,
etc…). The objective is to make sure that the global policies for
Sustainable Growth and Energy Security include a technically and
economically sensible roadmap for business/commercial aviation.
AT THE AIRCRAFT LEVEL
Engine manufacturers are pro-active on the use of alternative fuels for
Aviation. We are working closely with them (see the insert next page).
And, in addition, we are working at the aircraft level, in order to
check the fuel system as a whole.
Dassault is involved in various National or European program to
bring the airframer perspective in the development of alternative
fuel for aviation. A four-year European Program called ALPHA-BIRD
was launched, involving 27 partners, including Institut Français du
Pétrole (French Institute for Oil), European engine manufacturers
(SNECMA, ROLLS ROYCE) and oil companies (Shell, SASOL). The
objective is to evaluate the best options for biofuels for aviation and
the compatibility of fuel systems with promising alternative fuels.
Dassault is also involved in the French national programs called
Fuel system rig
Scale 1 deployment of pipes, pumps, connections and seals of a
FALCON fuel system
Comprehensive testing will be done on all fuel systems to
check, in particular: quantity gauging, seals longevity, and
integrity of elastic or plastic components. Focused material
testing will be made in the laboratory to validate corrosion
protection, integrity, etc, of metallic or composite materials
in the presence of alternative fuels, in defined environmental
conditions (temperature, pressure, …).
ENGINE MANUFACTURER ACTIVITIES : THE P&WC EXPERIENCE…
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) has been very proactive on the use of biojet fuels for aviation.
A significant activity with alternate fuels took place in 2008, involving tests on a PW308 engine
with Shell GTL/FT synthetic fuel. 50/50 blends with JP-8 and 100% synthetic fuels were tested
for gaseous emissions and particulate matter. The objective was to determine the impact of
synthetic fuels on performance and emissions.
No significant difference in performance and gaseous emissions were observed. Particulate
matter was reduced with use of synthetic fuels and heated fuel showed higher NOx emissions.
A second program on VLJs was undertaken in 2008 using biofuels and similar trends were
observed.
EXPERIMENTATIONS ON
PW308 ENGINE
Extensive instrumentation was used
to measure particulates, emissions
& obtain performance datA
Beyond those tests, P&WC has established a comprehensive
development program as below :
PROGRAM
PROGRAM
ANTICIPED FEED STOCK
PARTNERS
COMMENTS
1. ISTP Canada GITA-India
(International Science &
Technology Partnership)
(Global Innovation
& Technology Alliance)
1Q 2010 - 2012
Jatropha
Cellulosic
Ethanol-Jet
Fuel
Consortium of Canadian/
Indian Academic Institutes
and Indian Petroleum
Companies
Program will endeavour
to evaluate off shore
fuels using ASTM 4054
guidelines; P&WC rig
and engine test.
2. SDTC Canada & GARDN
4Q 2010 – 2012
(Planet Proposal Submitted)
Camelina
Canadian Airframer, NRC,
Canadian Regional Airline
Program will utilize
biofuel with the PW150
engine both in ground
and flight test.
3. SDTC
Phase II
2011 - 2013
Phase 1
(Proposal Submitted)
Algal Oil
Canadian Ocean,
Products Company,
NRC
PT6 engine test;
Program structured
to encourage algal oil
(fermentation process)
development in Canada.
4. P&WC Roadmap
2010 - 2015
2nd Generation Biofuel
Biofuel tests for all engine
families.
P&WC roadmap undertakes the bio-fuel validation on legacy and future power plant
families before 2015, including the PW300 family used by Falcon aircraft (planned in 2011).
FALCON
THE GREEN
FACTOR
07
•••
T
oday, some alternatives to fossil fuel exist, but in little quantities.
And they are not «green fuels» yet. First «drop-in» biofuels are
expected to be approved by 2012.
Dassault and engine manufacturers’ development programs are on
page with this timeframe.
However it is still to be demonstrated that those new fuels made of
biomass (the biofuels) will really help to reduce the greenhouse gas
footprint, and will not compete with food chain or agricultural land
and water.
Alternative fuel may not be the revolution some are expecting.
Whatever, they are not likely to entirely substitute for oil in the coming
decades.
That being said, our vision of sustainable aviation is not limited to
the single issue of being prepared for the coming of alternative fuels.
The design driver of our strategy still remains the optimization of
the aircraft and therefore “fuel efficiency”. Falcons are 20 to 60%
more fuel efficient than comparable aircraft. Meaning 20 to 60%
greener. And we are steadily working to improve our standards.
We are investigating all aspects of new technologies to develop
environmentally friendly aircraft, such as energy management, fuel
cells, flight management, structural design, aerodynamics efficiency
and more.
For those
who want
to Know
morE
08
•••
SOME REFERENCES
• Oil Energy Outlook, yearly report of IEA (International Energy Agency)
• Renewables In Global Energy Supply, an IEA (International Energy Agency)
Fact Sheet, January 2007.
• Bilans énergétiques et gaz à effet de serre des filières de production de biocarburants
•
•
•
•
•
•
en France, Note de synthèse, (Décembre 2002), ADEME (Agence de l’Environnement
et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie)
Well-To-Wheels Analysis of Future Automotive Fuels and Powertrains in the European
Context, version 2b, May 2006, EUCAR, CONCAWE and JRC (the Joint Research
Centre of the EU Commission)
European Energy and Transport, trends to 2030 – update 2005, publication prepared
by the Technical University of Athens, Greece, for the Directorate-General for Energy and
Transport of the European Commission
IATA 2007 Report on Alternative Fuels, Issued February 2008
Alternative Fuels and Their Potential Impact on Aviation, NASA/TM—2006 214365,
October 2006, Prepared for the 25th Congress of the International Council of the
Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS), September 3–8, 2006
o D. Daggett and O. Hadaller, Boeing Commercial Airplanes,
o R. Hendricks, Glenn Research Center,
o R. Walther, MTU Aero Engines GmbH,
www.caafi.orf, web site of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative.
o Presentation of Richard L. Altman, Executive Director to the Airline’s Pilot
Association on 2009, August the 6th
www.iae.org, web site of the IEA (International Energy Agency)
APPENDIX:
A TECHNICAL
FOCUS ON
BIOFUELS
•••
A1
What are biofuels ?
The present appendix aims to provide a short overview of the
different types of biofuels.
Making biofuel means to convert the biomass components (sugars,
lipids, or cellulose) into liquid fuels.
Substantial technical progress has been made in the development
of biofuels, as a sustainable alternative for automotive or aviation
transportation. If current biofuels are made of food feedstock (corn,
sugar cane, rapeseed, sunflowers, soy, palm oil), some attractive
new processes should allow production from feed stocks harmless
to the food chain such as: wood or agricultural wastes, or plants
growing on deprecated land or fallows.
But the challenge remains, both for automotive and aviation, to
achieve a large environmental-friendly production of fuels, at an
affordable price.
THREE
GENERATIONS OF
BIOFUELS
•••
Traditionally, biofuels are
depicted through 3 generations:
Generation One of biofuels refers to the fuel made of food
feedstock, i.e. directly competing with the food supply chain.
Generation Two of biofuels refers to fuel which can be made from
non-food feedstock, such as forestry or agricultural residues, straws,
biomass grown over arid land or fallows, fallows’ plants or algae,
thanks to the development of improved transformation processes.
Generation Three of biofuel foresees the use of biotechnologies
and bioprocesses (e.g. bacteria modified to break cellulose) to make
fuel from vegetation specifically modified for this purpose.
They should offer the required high productivity levels, performances
requirements but are far fetching concepts.
The more mature Generations (Generation One and Two) are described
hereafter:
A2
Generation One biofuels
A3
Generation One biofuels are mainly Ethanol
and Biodiesel.
Ethanol is by far the main world biofuel. It is made from sugar,
thanks to fermentation. Different types of crops can be used: corn
and wheat in the U.S., sugar cane in Brazil, rapeseed in Europe, all
achieving different levels of productivity. However, energy density
and safety issues make ethanol unfit for jet aviation.
Biodiesel is made of bio oils thanks to a chemical process called
transesterification, creating the Fatty Acid Methyl Ester, or FAME.
Various origins of bio oils can be used: soy, palm oil, sunflower, even
animal fats. Its production rate is ten times less than ethanol, and it is
mainly produced in Germany and France.
Both ethanol and biodiesel cannot be used in pure form in the current
generation of cars and are therefore blended with fossil fuel, gasoline
for ethanol and diesel for biodiesel. «Flexfuel» cars, with modified
injectors, accept both gasoline and E85 fuel (i.e. gasoline blended
with ethanol at 85 % content). A chemical conversion of ethanol into
Ethyl Tertio Butyl Ether, (ETBE) allows a 40% blending that is usable
in regular gasoline cars. Unfortunately, these biofuels are not suitable
for jet aviation, but can be used in piston aircraft.
From crops to fuel:
the first generation of biofuels
Beetroot,
Sugar cane
fermentation
wheat,
corn,
potato
sugar
starch
blend with
petrol
ETHANOL
etbe
rapeseed
oil
transesterification
sunflower
oil
blend with
diesel
Fatty Acid Methyl Ester
FAME or biodiesel
A4
Generation ONE BIOFUELS AND JET AVIATION
mass of fuel per unit energy
METHANOL
Generation 1
biofuels
eTHANOL
Ethanol’s low energetics
are not suited for jet aviation.
It generates significantly less
energy than the same volume
or mass of Jet A-1.
Biodiesel has interesting
energetic properties, closer to
jet fuel, but is not compliant with
other constraints, particularly
the freezing point.
biodiesel
jet a-1
FT
Synthetic
fuel
er
tt
be
Generation ONE fuel
energetic performances
LIQUID
METHANE
volume of fuel per unit energy
biodiesel (fames)
ethanol
Generation ONE FAME
compared with Jet A1, in cold
environment and over time.
Jet A1 remains liquid whereas the FAME
freezes at -20°, and separation is
observed on the FAME after months.
The only reported FAME
biodiesel to match Jet A1 specifications
is made from babassu oil, and needs to
be blended with Jet A1 at a low rate.
Virgin Atlantic performed a demo flight,
in early 2007 with this blend made by the
Brasilian firm TechBio.
The EMBRAER / IPANEMA aircraft
is flying with ethanol fuel. It is a light
aircraft with a piston engine not requiring
jet fuel qualities
Generation TWO biofuels
A5
T
he main objective of this generation of biofuels is to use
biomass from sources that do not compete with the food supply
chain such as wastes, straw or dedicated crops like jatropha,
myscanthus, algae and plenty of others, grown far from traditional
croplands, in arid land or over fallows. The availability of this new fuel
on a large scale is foreseen in the next 10 to 15 years timeframe.
Three exampleS of generation two feedstock
Myscanthus
fast growing plant.
Jatropha
fitted to arid land.
Spirulin
algae growing
in shallow waters.
Generation TWO biofuels
This generation TWO biofuels can be made throughout
3 different industrial processes.
1
• The bio-chemical transformation:
Ligno Cellulosic Ethanol (LCE) and Ligno
Cellulosic Buthanol (LCB)
The Ligno Cellulosic Ethanol (LCE) is expected to
be the generation 2 biofuel produced in the largest
quantity. Being ethanol, it will not be a suitable
alternative to jet fuel.
LCE is made out of cellulose and lignin, from grass
or wood. These organic materials are turned into
liquid fuel by an enzymatic transformation done by
bacteria, avoiding high temperature heating. It will be
an economical way to produce biofuel on a very large
scale.
Longer term development using this transformation
process is the family of Ligno Cellulosic Buthanol
(LCB), which could hopefully be a suitable alternative
to jet fuels.
A6
A7
2
• The Fischer Tropsch synthesis:
Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene
The Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis can produce jet fuels:
Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene, or FT-SKP.
The FT synthesis method is used to convert a mix
of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, into liquid fuel.
This mix, the Syngas (Synthetic Gas), can be made
from organic material, although it is traditionally
made from fossil carbon sources such as gas or coal.
By heating cellulose and lignin out of oxygen at high
temperature, you can produce Syngas as well.
And jet fuel can be then produced from the biomass.
Some of the main showstoppers are the cost of
production and the environmental impact: the process
generates CO2, and the high temperature heating
consumes a lot of energy. The Fischer-Tropsch
Synthesis process is not yet competitive, and the few
FT units in the world are sponsored by non producing
oil countries, usually for political reasons.
Production of liquid fuel from biomass
by Fischer- Tropsch Synthesis
co2
co2
syngas
cleanup
fischertropsch
synthesis
marketready
products
AIRBUS A380
feeds
steam
gasification
syngas
co2 & h2
f-t product
upgrading
demo flight of Feb. 2007, with GTL FT
(similar to FT-SKP) in one tank.
Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic
Kerosene is even slightly better
A8
3
• The hydrotreatment:
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils (HVO)
Lipids (oils) are a good source for producing fuels
and are largely available in the biomass area through
animal fats, jatropha berries, palm oil or algae.
Based on the carbon chain cracking at high
temperature and hydrogen injection, hydrotreatment
shows promise for the production of dense fuels,
including jet fuel.
Algae pool in California
(general atomics)
Algae are likely to be the preferred
source of HVO : they are very efficient
lipids producers and CO2 absorbers.
Within the family of HVO, the HRJ (Hydrotreated Renewable Jet) complies with the Jet A1 specification.
Hydrotreatment shares the same drawback with the
Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis process: an expensive
heating process. The industrial process is expected
to gain significant improvements in the next decade.
3 successful flights
with Hydrotreated Renewable
Jet Fuel from HVO family.
A9
Production of liquid fuel from biomass
by Fischer- Tropsch Synthesis
OIL DISTILLATE
FUELS
Oil gas / butane, propane, GPL …
Petrol / car fuel
Naphta / plastic, solvent, synthetic fibre, detergent
Jet fuel / kerosene
Diesel / truck fuel
Diesel oil
Heating fuel
Mineral oil / lubricant
OVEN
Crude oil
Heated crude
Heavy oils / electricity production
by thermical units
Bitumen / asphalt, sealing …
alternative
fuels
NOTES
Dassault Aviation
78, quai Marcel Dassault - 92552 Saint-Cloud Cedex 300 - France
Tel: +33 1 47 11 82 32
Fax: +33 1 47 11 89 17
©Copyright 2010 Dassault Aviation and Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. All rights reserved.
Dassault Falcon Jet Corp.
Teterboro Airport - Box 2000 - South Hackensack, NJ 07606 - USA
Tel: +1 201 440 6700 / Fax: +1 201 541 4469
www.dassaultfalcon.com